Heinz Ketchup is slow. We know it. Heinz knows it. It’s as legendary as the many methods people use to get the stubborn stuff out of the freaking bottle.
But Heinz embraces it. They’ve even gone so far as to create some of their best advertising around their sluggish sauce. Here are three great examples.
But Heinz didn’t just embrace it and stop there. Deep down, Heinz knew their customers were having a bad experience. A really bad one. The worst kind.
Customers couldn’t access their product. When they wanted it. While their fries were still hot.
Heinz could have dug in their heels and stuck to tradition. But Heinz wanted to solve their customer’s problem. Enter the ketchup tottle (tottle: a bottle that stands on its top.) And Voilá! Heinz Ketchup on demand. No more waiting. No more tapping. No more jabbing knives. No more voodoo.
Just. Heinz. Ketchup.
Now.
“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” -Jeff Bezos, Amazon
The point I want to make here is to ALWAYS understand your customer’s experience. How are they interacting with your brand or using your product.? What kind of experience are they having? What are they saying?
Then, here’s the hard part: LISTEN.
Even if it’s bad. Especially if it’s bad. Look for a common pain point. Solve it. Repeat. Be customer centric. Not brand centric.
Brand Centric Design = No Ketchup
Customer Centric Design = All the Ketchup
After all, isn’t that’s how relationships are built? Reducing each other’s pain points and anticipating the other person’s needs?